Regular readers may have noticed I’ve a weakness for Irish writing. It was that and the premise of Billy O’Callaghan’s My Coney Island Baby that attracted me to it. Two lovers, engaged in a long affair, meet for an afternoon once a month, a welcome interval in their humdrum marriages. Now each is faced with a crisis that threatens this relationship which has become so precious to them both.
On a bleak November afternoon, Michael and Caitlin battle their way against the wind to a Coney Island hotel. They’ve snatched afternoons like this for twenty-five years since Michael met Caitlin in a bar, escaping the awful grief at the loss of his baby son. Caitlin was already married, still cherishing dreams of becoming a writer and publishing the occasional short story. These two clicked and have continued to do so, telling each other their stories as lust dwindles a little, although never completely, and love grows. Now they’re in their late forties and age is overtaking them. Shortly after they meet, Michael tells Caitlin that his wife has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Later in the afternoon she tells him her husband is in line for a promotion that will take him to Illinois. They both know these monthly meetings may be about to end unless they make an irrevocable decision.
For those seconds of a summer’s afternoon, easy in one another’s arms, they were entirely who they wanted and needed to be.
O’Callaghan’s novel takes place during a single afternoon, switching perspective from Michael to Caitlin. Their stories unfold in such a way that we come to know these two intimately: Michael thinks of the Irish island he left when he was sixteen, and his son whose death indelibly marked his marriage; Caitlin remembers her ambitions to become a writer, and the stepfather whose sudden departure left her and her mother alone again. There’s an elegiac tone to O’Callaghan’s prose coupled with a timelessness which suits his subject beautifully. It’s a novel that quietly draws you in, engaging sympathy for these two lovers who face the end of the only relationship in which they’ve truly felt themselves.
Ooh Thanks for this. I really enjoyed The Dead House by him. And I have a soft spot for Coney Island too.
This is the first one I’ve read by him, given to me by my old pal Andy Taylor who thought it might be up my alley. I’ll add The Dead House to my list
I shouldn’t be surprised that you know Andy Taylor (or, as we call him at HH, Andy Penguin)! He’s a darling.
He is, indeed, and that’s exactly what we used to call him in the shop. He’s by far the best rep I’ve ever known and a great friend, too. So glad you like him!
This sounds lovely, I enjoy Irish writing too.
It has that lovely wistful quality that seems to characterise Irish writing to me.
Something about this really appeals to me, I think it might be the contained periods of time the lovers spend together. It’s not a novel I would have picked up but you’ve certainly convinced me!
Oh, I hope you like it. It has a gorgeously melancholic feel about it.
Just finished reading it after your recommendation.It was bit of a slow burner for me but once I got into it I was invested in the characters. It’s beautifully written. Poignant and very poetic.
So glad you enjoyed it, Helen. I think I’d agree about the slow burning but it’s a while since I read this, now, and it’s stayed with me. It’s infused with melancholy, isn’t it.